Knitting apparatus



C. BOMHOFF KNITTING APPARATUS Sept. 13, 1932.

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 13. 1929 Z 0 h 1 r a U M 8 Sept. 13, 1932.

C. BOMHOFF KNITTING APPARATUS FiledAug. 13. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 I. h ain NM E Q aw MW lj' Sept. 13, 1932. c BOMHOFF 1,877,492

KNITTING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 13. 1929 6 Sheets- Sheet 5 J mmummnmuuuuuum Snuemi'oz Sept 13, 1932. Q BOMHOFF 1,877,492

' KNIT-TING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 15. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 5mm to:

wm-m C. HOFF KNITTING APPARATUS 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Smvzutoz r.ril lllll'l Filed Aug. 15,

1--- u E w 1 Sept. 13, 1932., c, BOMHOFF 1%?7f92 KNITTING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 13. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented fiept. 13, 193E UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CORNELIUS IBOHHOFF, OF BOCKAWAY,

NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB '10 GOTHAM SILK HOSIEB Y COMPANY INC 01 NEW YORK,

N. Y A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE KNITTING APPARATUS Application filed August 13, 1929. Serial No. 385,548.

This invention relates to knitting machines, and with particularity to methods and means for selectively knitting different portions of a fabric as a continuous operation.

5 As an example of one type of fabric in connection with which the invention is of outstanding advantage, may be mentioned, a stocking. The nsl'lal method of making a stocking is toknit the leg portion on one ma- 1 chine called a legger and the foot portion on a separate machine or footer. In order that the leg portion may be properly united to the foot portion it is necessar to form said leg portion with two heel portions which form, in effect, edge extensions of theleg portion proper. In forming these heel portions it has been necessary heretofore to remove the greater part of the knitted leg portion from the needles. This, of course, entailed a stopping of the machine and required careful manipulation of the fabric in order that the proper number of loops on each side of g the leg be retained on the needles for the subsequent heel-tab formation.

Similarly, after the formation of the heeltab it has been necessary to transfer the leg portion to a footer machine, again requiring a stopping of the machine and further adjustments thereof, all of which consumed considerable time, resulting in many cases in non-uniform products.

Accordingly it is one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a method of uniting the leg and foot portions of a stocking on a single machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of knitting a stocking leg with integral heel-tabs in a single continuous oper-' ation.

Another objecbis to provide a machine for knitting a stocking with integral heeltabs without removal of any formed loops from the knitting needles.

Another object is to provide a machine for knitting a stocking whereby a more uniform fabric is produced and whereby the percentage of seconds or waste in the knitting operation is materially reduced.

A further object is to provide a machine for knitting stockings whereby the leg portion,-foot portion, and heel-tabportion may be-united with greater precision than is obtainable with existing machines.

Heretofore the standard practice in knitting stockings has been to provide three leggers withone footer, whereas with the present invention since the foot and leg portions are made on the same machine a single attendant may take care of the formation of an entire stocking.

In achieving the above noted and other objects, the invention embodies, in place of the usual one-piece needle-bar, a bar which comprises a plurality of sections, which are selectively movable one with respect to another, so that one or more portions of a fabric may be knitted while another portion is retained on the needles, but is not subjected to the knitting operation.

A feature of the invention relates to a machine having a sectional needle-bar toether with means for moving one section of the needle-bar out of knitting relation with the rest of the machine while the remaining sections of the needle-bar continue to function in knitting. I

Another feature pertains to a knitting machine having a sectional needle-bar together with means for moving one section away from the knitting point in step with the knitting functions of the remaining sections of the needle-bar whereby selected portions of an article such as a stocking or the like may be formed while a remaining portion is moved away from the knitting point without removing the 'knitted loops from the needles.

A further feature relates to the organization and arrangement of elements which go to make up an efiicient unitary machine for knitting full-fashioned stockings.

Other features and advantages not specifically enumerated will be revealed after a consideration of the following detail description and the appended claims.

While the invention will be described hereinafter and disclosed in the drawings asapplied to one well known type of machine for knitting full-fashioned stockings, it will be understood that the invention'in its broad aspects is not limited thereto, but is useful in type of machine wherein particular sections only of an article are to be knitted while the remaining section or sections are retained on the needles without taking part in the knitting operation.

asmuch as the mechanism for effecting usual knitting operations is well known in the art, only that portion of the machine which standing of the invention will be described, and corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings will be referred to by the same designation characters.

- step of forming the end sections for enabling Accordingly, Flgure 1 of the drawings shows a top plan view of a portion of a machine embodying certain features of the invention. This figure also shows one preferred manner of mounting and moving the sectional needle-bar according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view in elevation and partly in section, showing the various operating mechanism for controlling knitting operations as well as the mechanism for selectively controlling the movable section of the neele-bar according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is another vertical view in elevation and partly in section, showing mechanism similar to that of Fig. 2, but with the movable needle-bar section in a different position from that on Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a front view in elevation of a part of the machine showing the relation between the movable needle-bar sections and the knitting and narrowing mechanisms associated therewith.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the machine showing the manner in which the foot portion is formed on the machine.

Fig. 6 is a detailed front view showing the manner of coupling the movable section of the needle-bar to the stationary section thereof.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to that of Fig. 7, showing the movable sectionuncoupled and in a difl'erentknitting position with respect to the stationary needle-bar section.

ig. 9 is another view of the portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a detail View showing the manner of indexing the movable needle-bar section accordingto the invention.

Fig. 11 is a partial view in perspective showing the movable sectional needle-bar.

Fig. 12 shows a portion of a stocking leg having heel-tabs formed integrally therewith in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 13 illustrates diagrammatically the portion of the the looping operator to the looping operation.

Fig. 14 illustrates diagrammatically the is necessary to obtain a clear under grip the fabric during 1 next step in forming the foot portion'integrally with the leg portion of the stocking,

Figs. 15, 16 and 17 show a modified manner of oscillating the movableneedle-bar section during the knitting operation.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings the machine which is of a well known type for knitting full fashioned stockings comprises generally a plurality of supporting frames 1, only one of which is shown In Fig. 1, it being understood that as -1nany frames are provided throughout the length of the machine as are necessary to provide the requisite support. Extending longitudinally of the machine, and supported in the frames 1, are the front and rear beams 2 and 3 respectively. Likewise, extending longitudinally and supported on the frames 1 are the front bed 4, and the center bed 5, respectively. Frames 1 also carry suitable bearings through which pass the main cam shaft 6, the catchbar shaft 7, the needle-bar shaft 8, presserbar shaft 9, and the knockover bit shaft 10.

The center bed 5 supports the sinker bed 11 and the jack bed 12. Slidably mounted in the bed 11 are the usual sinkers 13, and pivotally mounted on the longitudinally extending fulcrum rod 14, are the usual jacks 15, one for each sinker and having their upper ends normally resting against the rear ends ofthe as sociated sinkers. Supported on the longitudinal rail 16 and adapted to slide along the same are the usual cock boxes 17, one for each section of the machine, and adapted to be reciprocated through any well known mechanism '(not shown). The cam-like face 18 of the member 17 during reciprocation causes the sinkers to be moved forwardly through the intermediary of the jacks 15.

isposed longitudinally above the sinker bed is the catch-bar 19, which is adapted to be moved in a horizontal direction under control of lever 20, which is attached to the shaft 7, the latter shaft being oscillated under cont-r01 of cam 21. The catch-bar 19 is also adapted moved in a horizontal direction to carry Disposed in front of the sinker bed is the needle-bar designated generally by the numeral The needle-bar for Section 26 of the needle-bar corresponds to the usual construction and is adapted to be moved in a compound, vertical and horizontal movement in the well known manner through the intermediary of suit-able cams and levers, thus as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the vertical movement of the needle-bar is controlled by lever 28 and cam 21, while the ioriz'ontal or presser movement is controlled by lever 29. Inasmuch as the mechanism for controlling the time and functioning of the emma needle-bar section 26 is well known, further detail description thereof is not believed necessary herein.

As shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 11, needlebar section 26 is provided with two cutaway portions 30, 31, while the movable needlebar section 27 is provided with needles only at' the portions designated by the numerals 32 and 33, and the section 27 is so mounted and disposed that the needles 32 and 33 are in alignment with the cutaway portion 30 and 31 of needlebar 26. The section 27 is adapted to be moved toward and away from the section 26 at the proper times by means to be described hereinafter. When it is desired to utilize the full length of the section 26 in knitting, the section 27 is moved toward section 26 until the needles in both sections are in alignment to form in effect a single continuous needle-bar of the usual type. In order that both sections 26 and 27 may be operated as a unit, suitable coupling means are provided for mechanically connecting the sections as a unit, and for this purpose a slidable latch 34 is provided on the section 27 which cooperates with a corresponding latchway fastened to the needle-bar section 26. It is to be noted that the needle-bar section 32 will then knit the central portion of the fab ric, while the needle sections a and b will knit the side portions of the fabric. Similarly the section 33 will knit the central portion of another fabric while the needle sections 0 and d will knit the side portions of this latter fabric. However, when it is desired to knit side portions alone, for example in forming the heel-tabs of a stocking or the like, at the same time allowing the center portion of the fabric which has already been knitted to be retained on the needles, the section 27 is moved forwardly in the direction of the arrow under control of the shafts 36, one step for each course of the yarn. With this general description of the sectional needle-bar it is believed that a detail description of the machine may now be conveniently proceeded with.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the movable section 27 carrying the above described needle groups 32 and 33 is shown in full lines in a retracted position away from the associated needle-bar sections ab and 0d respectively, while the dot-dash lines indicate the position of the section 27 when the same is moved into alignment with the needle-bar section 26.

As shown in Fig. 4 the movable needle-bar section comprises a horizontal flanged portion 37 to which are attached to downwardly depending brackets 43 and 44, each of said brackets being provided with rearwardly extendin bosses 45, which have a bore 46 therethroug -to receive the reduced end 47 of the shaft 36 (Figs. 2 and 3). Solely for the purposeof clarity the shafts 36 are shown in Fig. 11 as withdrawn from the members 15, but it will be understood that the ends of said shafts may normally be in registry with bores 46, in which case the reduced ends a7 are provided with projections for purposes hereinafter described. When the machine is in its normal position with the sections 32 and 33 in alignment with the main needlebar, the shaft 36 is in the position shown in Fig.

As shown more in detail in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, there is pivotally mounted on the rear of the bracket 43 a pawl 48. Pawl a8 is provided with an upwardly extending arm 49 which engages a corresponding slot in the latch 34, said l'atch beingmounted for slid ing movement in a bracket 50 attached to the flange 37. A spring 51 having one end attached to the bracket 50 and the other end to the latch 34 tends normally to maintain said latch and the pawl 48 in the position shown in Fig. 6, wherein the lower end of the pawl partially overlaps the bore 46. Cooperating with the tip of the latch is a corresponding latchway 52 which is fastened to the main needle-bar 26. 1 When the respective fixed and movable sections of the needle-bar are in alignmentas indicated in Figs. i and 6, the

latch 34 enters the latchway 52 and mechanically couples the said needle-bar sections together, so that they may be operated in the usual manner as a-unit for the knitting operations.

For the purpose of-limiting the backward movement of the section 27 with respect to section 26, and'for adjusting the alignment thereof, suitable stops 53 are attached to the needle sections 32 and 33 which stops abut against the face of the main needle-bar and prevent the movable section 27 being moved backwardly out of alignment. shoulders 54, 55 may be provided for coopcrating with the lower edges of the cutaway portions 30 and 31 of the main needle-bar.

As hereinabove described when the .machine is in the normal position and knitting the full width of the fabric the sections 32 and 33 (Fig. 11) are in alignment with the main needle-bar 26. Should it be desired to knit only the side portions of the fabric, for example the heel tabs of a stocking, the attendant manually, or otherwise, rotates the shaft 58 by means ofa suitable hand wheel or the like (not shown) which results in a movement of the racks 59 and the bars 36 in the direction of the arrow (Figs. 1 and 2). The bars 36 are moved forwardly a suflicient distance 1 to cause projections on theends 47 to engage the pa-wls 48 (Fig. 6) which are thereby r6- tated in a counter-clockwise direction to withdraw the associated latches 34 from the latchways 52, thus uncoupling the movable section 27 from the main' needle-bar section 26, and permitting said movable section 27 to be moved forwardly one step for each course of Similarly the end of the bellcrank lever 63, which is pivotally mounted at the point 64 in a bracket 65 attached to the rear beam 3. Lever 33 at its upper end has mounted thereon a pawl 66 the tooth of which cooperates with a corresponding ratchet wheel 67. Wheel 67 drives a pinion 68 which turns the associated toothed wheel 69 fastened to shaft 58. Shaft 58 has fastened thereto the pinions 70 which engage the tooth of the rack bars 59. The cam 61 and the lever and the ratchet mechanism are so designed that for each course of the yarn the ratchet wheel is advanced one step, causing the movable section 27 to be moved forwardly a distance corresponding to the width of the successive knitted loops.

In order to prevent overthrow of the pawl and ratchet mechanism there is mounted on the ratchet wheel shaft a friction wheel 72. Cooperating with said wheel is a brake shoe 73 adjustably mounted in a standard 74 fastened to the shaft 75, which also carries the .arm 76 for supporting the pinion 70. Shaft 7 5 is also provided with an extension 77 pivotally mounted in a bracket 78 on the rear beam 3, and the entire assembly may be adjusted in a vertical position by means of the adjusting screw 78 which is: provided in the end of the arm 79 extending outwardly from said beam 3.

By thisarrangement it will be seen that the movable needle-bar section 27 is moved forwardly of the machine in a step-by-step fashion, in accordance with each course that is knitted, and it is not necessary to remove the previously knitted section of the fabric from the needles of the movable section, while the edge sections of the fabrics are being knitted, and as soon as the movable section is effectively uncoupled from the main needle-bar section 26, the latter may go through its vertical and horizontal knitting motions entirely independent of said movablesection. In Fig. 8 the two needle-bar sections are shown as having just been uncoupled, while Fig. 7 shows the sections coupled together.

When the requisite length of the edge sections has been knitted, the movable section 27 may be brought back into alignment with the main needle-bar, by the attendant turning the Because of pawls 48 with the proshaft 58 in the reverse direction. the engagement of the j ections on rods 36, when the latter are moved baekwardly they carry with them the movable section 27 until the stop lugs 53 on the ,said movable section abut against the face of the main needle-bar 26, whereupon further movement of the section 27 is prevented and the bar 36 may be entirely withdrawn from the brackets 43 to allow the associated latches 34 to again couple the fixed section 26 to the movable section 27. The machine is then in condition to again proceed with the knitting of the fabric throughout its entire width.

While in the foregoing a description has been given of the manner of selectively rendering only the edge sections a?), 0d of each unit effective in knitting, it will be understood that the machine is provided with the usual narrowing head for controlling the travel of the yarn carriers. Inasmuch as this mechanism is well knownin the art, further detail description thereof is not believed necessary, the same being generally indicated in the upper portion of Fig. 4 of the drawings.

WVhile in the foregoing one specific arrangement of movable and fixed needle-bar portion is to be continuously employed, but since these form no feature of the present invention, detail description thereof is not deemed necessary.

Referring to Figs. 12, 13 and 14, a description will now be given of the method of knitting a full fashioned stocking comprising leg portions, heel-tab portions and foot portions on the machine shown in Figs. 1 to 11.

As shown in Fig. 12 the numeral 81 represents the leg portion of a stocking havin the width 6. To knit this width the attendant initially adjusts the machine so that the movable and main needle-bar sections 27 and 26 are in alignment and the knitting operation is continued in the usual manner until the stocking leg is knitted to the point 77. In order that the heel-tab portions 82 and 83 may next be knitted without continuing the leg portion of the stocking, the attendant turns the shaft 58, as hereinabove described, to uncouple the movable section 27 of the needle-bar from the main section 26 thereof, while retaining the central portion 9 of the leg, upon the needles of the movable section. I he narrowing head having been properly adjusted the machine continues to knit the heel-tab portions82 and 83 to the required length, whereupon the attendant removes the heel-tab portions from the associated needle sections a and b (Figxll).

As hereinabove described while the heeltab portions 82 and 83 were being knitted the section 9 of the stocking leg which is retained onthe needle section 32 is moved progressively forward away from the main needle-bar step-by-step, in accordance with each course of the heel-tabs that is knitted.

The next step in the operation is the formation of the small lateral strips 84 and which are necessary in orderto provide a gripping surface for the subsequent looping operation, which is usually done manually. Prior to the knitting of these gripping tabsit is necessary to bring the edge 9 of the leg portionback into alignment with the main knitting needles. This is efiected by the operator turning the shaft 58 in the reverse direction, as hereinabove described, however,

without moving the rod 36 sufficiently far back to couple the movable section 27' to the main section 26. The narrowing heads are then adjusted to knit the width of the gripping tabs 84 and 85. .When the requisite length of gripping tabs has been thus formed the attendant brings the movable section 27 into complete alignment with the section 26 and effects a mechanical coupling therebetween by means of latch members 34 and 52, as hereinabove described. In this condition of the apparatus the leg of the stocking, with the heel-tabs 82, 83 tucked out of the way, is in alignment with the gripping tabs 84 and 85 and the machine may then be operated to continue knitting the foot portion 86. During this latter knitting operation the usual narrowing and transfer mechanism may be operated to shape the foot to the proper formation. There is thus formed on a single machine, a complete fabric necessary for making a full-fashioned stocking, andre quiring only the removal of the heel-tabs 82 and 83 from the needles during the entire knitting operations.

Referring to Figs. 15, 16 and 17 a description will now be given of a modified mechanism for controlling the step-by-step move ment of the needle-bar movable section. As described hereinabove the movable needlebar sections 32, 33, etc., are moved forwardly away from the main needle-bar section one step for each traverse of the yarn carrier. Consequently while the needles in the main sections a, b, c, (I, etc. are undergoing their usual knitting movements, the needles of sections 32, 33 are stationary. The result is that during the knitting process, the loops that are retained on the needle sections 32, 33 may be subjected to a strain as the needles (1,6, 0, (7. etc. are going through their compound vertical and horizontal motions. To eliminate as much as possible this -strain the mechanism of Figs. 15, 16 and 17 may be employed to oscillate the movable sections'32, 33 in synchronism with the pressure and vertical movements of the knitting needles.

Accordingly in place of the cam 60 (Fig. 3)

which. as above described, advances the ratchet wheel 67, one step for each traverse of the yarn-carrier. there is mounted on shaft 6 a cam (Fig. 15) which is so designed that the high portion 91 effects the forward stepby-step movement of wheel 67 through levers 63 and 66 in the same manner as cam 60.

However in the modification cam 90 is provided with a depression 92 and a gradual raised portion 93 whereby the point 94 is given a corresponding reciprocating motion, this motion corresponding to and being timed with the presser and vertical motions of the main needle-bars as effected by the levers 28 and 29 described hQIQlIlflbOVQ. In order to transmit this compoundmotion to the movable needle-bar sections/32, 33 thelever 63 have pivotally attached thereto at the point 94 two pawl arms 95 and 96. Arm 96 corresponds to arm 66 (Figs. 1 and 3) and operates pawl 97 which in turn rotates ratchet wheel 67 arid shaft 58 in a counter-clockwise direction. For the purpose of rotating shaft 58 in a clockwise direction (when the roller 62 enters the depression 92) the arm 95 carries at its extreme end a rigid pawl, said arm nor-' mally restin on the cooperating ratchet wheel 98 having teeth facing in the opposite direction from those of wheel 67. However, because of the design of .cam 90, pawl 97 does not effect clockwise rotation of shaft 58 until the follower 62 engages the depression 92. It will be understood of course that the teeth on the receptive ratchet wheels are so proportioned as to effect the required movement of the movable needle-bar sections.

VVith this arrangement of pawls-the loops that are retained on the movable needle-bar are subjected to a constant tension while the main needlebar is going through its knitting movements.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knitting machine a first needle bar, a second needle bar, a latch member carr ed by one of said bars, and means for operating sald latch to couple and uncouple said bars.

2. Irra unitary machine for knit-ting a complete full-fashioned stocking, a needle bar having two sections adapted to be moved into and out of alignment with each other, a. master cam shaft, means controlled by said shaft foroperating both said sections as a unit to knit the leg and foot portions of a stocking. and for operating one of said sectiohs alone ,to knit the heel, an indexing niti'chanism for one of said sections, a cam 11? xing mechanism.

A unitary machine according to claim 2 which the indexing mechanism comprises wl and ratchet mechanism connected to one of said sections.

.41 5 In a machine of the character described [a first needle bar section, a second needle-bar section, means for moving the first section aid shaft for periodically advancing said through acompound horizontal and vertical knitting motion, and independent means for reciprocating said second section in a horizontal direction in synchronism with the knitting movement of the first section.

5. In a. machine of the'character described a first needle-bar section, a second needle-bar section adapted to be moved into and. out of alignment with the first section, means for moving the second section away from the first section a certain distance after each course of the yarn carrier, and means for oscillating said second section toward and away from the first section during each course of the yarn carrier.

6. A machine according to claim in which the means for moving the second section comprises, a set of pawl and ratchets each adapted to move posite directions.

-a second section, coupling said sections together to operate as 7. In a machine of the character described a needle bar comprising a first section and means for detachably a unitor to operate independently in knit ting movements, a first pawl and ratchet for moving the second section away from the first section, and a second pawl and ratchet for moving the second section towards the first section.

8. A unitary machine for knitting the leg and heel portions of a full-fashioned stocking comprising a needle bar having a central section and a means for operating all of said sections to knit the leg portion, means for fashioning said leg portion during knitting, means for operatlng said lateral sections alone, and latching means for said sections for coupling them together.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this second day of August A; D.

CORNELIUS BOMHOFF.

said second section in opplurality of lateral sections, 

